Nature Window: Rotten Apples

Apples are yummy fruit. Have you ever forgotten about one and neglected to eat it? After a couple of weeks brown spots start, then those brown spots get soft and spread. Then, the brown spots develop black and green spots in them that get bigger and bigger. White spots also appear. Soon the whole apple is brown and covered in different colors of black, green, and white fuzzy stuff. Yuk!

​We call that yucky process decomposition. It happens because tiny microorganisms of bacteria and fungi start eating the apple. Then they grow and multiply taking over the whole thing. We call apples that have turned brown, rotten. Nobody wants to eat a rotten apple. Check out this time lapse video of an apple going bad. The music is kind of sad, so you might mute it.

Rotting apples remind me of the Bible verse, Hebrews 3:12, which says, " So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God" (ICB). It's possible for us to develop a rotten heart and turn away from God. This is why we always have to try to stay close to Jesus. Our Bible story is about a king who followed God with all his heart when he was young. But, when someone special in his life died, his heart became rotten, and he didn't want to follow God anymore. How sad!

Memory Mastery Review: God's Special Book

Next Sabbath we will be presenting to the church what the children learned about God's special book, the Bible. Please look at a Bible while you listen along. Please make sure your child can answer the following questions.

What's the name of God's special book?

How many little books are in the Bible?

What are the 2 big parts of the Bible called?

Who helped each Bible writer to write his book?

The Bible tells us the story of ___ from ___ until __________.

Who will we see leading God's people in all the Bible stories?

How can we have Jesus lead us in our daily lives?

We will also be singing the hymn, Standing on the Promises. Children should know the first verse.

Standing on the promises of Christ the KingThrough eternal ages let His praises ringGlory in the highest I will shout and singStanding on the promises of God

Standing, standingStanding on the promises of God my SaviorStanding, standingI'm standing on the promises of God

Memory Mastery: The Godhead

This quarter we are learning more about the Godhead. During our time, we will unpack a little of the mystery of God to help the children understand some important principles. At the end of our questions and answers, you will find a poem about the Godhead that I want the children to memorize.

Who is God?

God is our maker. [Can you pound your fist like you are building something?] He put our bodies together before we were born.

God is our provider. [Can you hold your hands out to give?] He gives us everything we need to live (air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, clothes to keep us warm, roof to keep us dry, and family to love).

God is our Savior from sin. [Can you cross your arms like you are in jail, then open them to be free?] He died for our sins and gives us power to obey, so we can live forever with Him.

​Did God really make everything? What was there before Him? Reference: Acts 17:24-28

God is the Creator of heaven and earth and every living being.

He has always been there. He was there before anything existed. He was there before your mommy and daddy, before your grandma and grandpa, before Abraham and Noah, before Adam and Eve, before the animals, before the earth was created, before the angels lived, before the whole universe was here – God has always been there, and He will always be here.

And God wants each of us to get to know Him and be His friend, so He inspired prophets to write the Bible – His words to us.

Do you like to be alone all by yourself? Neither does God. In fact, did you know God has his own family? References: 1 John 5:7; Mark 1:9-11

We call His family the Godhead.

There are 3 persons in His family – The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Can we see God? References: 1 John 4:12; John 6:46; Hebrews 4:14; John 15:26; John 14:7-9

No, we can’t see God, but we know He is there. There are a lot of things we cannot see, but we know they are there. Can you think of any examples? (air, microscopic organisms, certain wavelengths of light, magnetic force, etc.)

But, people long ago did see Jesus when he walked and lived on earth. Now, Jesus is in heaven serving as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Even though He is way up there, we can still see Jesus here. When we prayerfully read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will show Him to us. And Jesus will show us the Father.

Here is a poem I wrote to help us remember each person of the Godhead.(This poem is the actual memory mastery project we will memorize as a class.)

Who is God? [arms and shoulders raised up like I don't know.]

Heavenly Father, to whom I pray. [point up, then hands folded in prayer]

Jesus Christ who died for me. [open arms wide like cross, then point to self]

Holy Spirit who lives in my heart. [swirl on finger around, then point to heart]

All 3 are one God of love. [show 3 fingers, show 1, point up, then hug self]

- by Inga Goodwin

Mission Trip: More for Jesus

Bonte is a 12-year old boy in Gabon, a country on the west coast of central Africa. He likes going to his Adventist School because he gets to learn about Jesus. His friends that live too far away to go to Adventist School go to public school. They say their teachers always have exams on Saturdays, and they get in trouble for skipping them because they go to church. Bonte hopes everyone will help give to the 13th Sabbath mission project, so there can be a new Adventist school where his friends live in Franceville, Gibon.

Bible Story: Joash Fixes God's Church

Joash was only 7 years old when he became king of Judah. Jehoiada the priest was like a father to him and helped him make good decisions for God.

King Joash was 7 years old when he became king of Judah. Priest Jehoida helped him make good decisions for God. Can you point to King Joash the boy king? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

King Joash decided he wanted to repair God's temple, but there was no money to hire people to help. King Joash had an idea. He put a big box outside the temple, so people could put money there when they came to worship. Soon, the box filled up with money. King Joash had it brought to the treasury, so he could pay workers to fix the temple.

King Joash put a box in front of the temple. People put money in the box. Can you point to the man putting money in the offering box? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

Now there was enough money to fix God's house. King Joash hired stone workers and carpenters to fix God's house. He paid them money from the money that was collected in the big offering box. Soon, God's house was like new again! Priest Jehoida and King Joash were so happy to see God's house all fixed up.

King Joash used the money in the box to pay workers to fix God's house. Can you pound your fist like a hammer? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

Some time later, priest Jehoiada died. Other people gave King Joash bad ideas. King Joash decided he didn't want to serve God anymore. He started worshiping idols. How sad! God sent prophet Zechariah to warn King Joash of his sins, but King Joash did not listen. His heart was now evil.

After Priest Jehoida died, king Joash stopped obeying God. God sent prophet Zechariah to tell King Joash to obey, but Joash did not listen. Can you shake your head in sadness? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

Our prayer verse is Psalm 40:8, which says, "I delight to do Your will, O my God,And Your law is within my heart" (NKJV). King Joash started out with a good heart that loved God's law. Then his heart became bad. We have to be very careful keep our hearts true to God. Let's give our hearts to Jesus right now.

Dear Father God, please put Your law in my heart. I want to love and serve You. I want Jesus in my heart today. In Jesus' name, Amen